Lush green maize plants stand stubbornly in a buffet of criss-crossing huge cobs as if daring mother nature for allowing them to flourish in an otherwise land of perennial dearth.

Juxtaposed to the flourishing staple crop, teeming with life and exuberance, is pale and hapless bush shrubbery and carpet of tinder dry leaves divorced from their parent mopane trees.

The sight of the lively maize crop defiantly standing tall in the sweltering heat of Mwenezi, opposed to surroundings dominated by emaciated shrubbery and woodlands tells a story of how man’s hand has successfully tamed the environment.

In the past it was unusual to come across a thriving maize crop in Mwenezi at this time of the year.

Thanks to man’s endless battle to conquer his environment, Mwenezi is now a pacesetter in food production all year round, courtesy of the fledgling and fast expanding winter maize project.

Production of winter maize in Zimbabwe continues to gain traction by day as part of a cocktail of measures to contain the ghost of climate change that threatens humanity through recurrent droughts that spawn food shortages.

Traditionally, Mwenezi was always a land synonymous with poor rains that made crop farming hard, forcing inhabitants in the area to focus on animal husbandry and traditional grains.

Few imagined that one day, the giant Manyuchi Dam, upstream of the perennially flowing Mwenezi River, could be the lung that breathes agricultural life in this arid land on the extreme southern fringes of Masvingo province.

Mwenezi today, stands on the cusp of propelling Masvingo province to agricultural history, thanks to a well-drilled seed maize project at Mwenezana estates jointly developed by Seed Co Private (Ltd) and sugar producer Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe.

The seed maize project, covering 465ha and billed to produce 1 555 tonnes of maize seed enough to plant over 62 000ha to produce more than 300 000 tonnes of grain at an average yield per hectare of five tonnes, has added traction to the winter maize project.

Winter maize production is now the core of the fabric that makes the nation’s armour in the battle against climate change.

Over the past decade, Zimbabwe has been at the receiving end of chronic food shortages due to climate change, forcing Government to spend tens of millions of dollars of scarce hard currency to import food.

Today, winter maize production serves as the weft to the warp of a sustained thrust to make Zimbabwe food secure by fully harnessing its vast irrigation potential.

Commissioning a seed maize project at Mwenezana estates recently, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said Masvingo province alone had potential to expand winter maize production to 10 000ha at any given time, taking advantage of its high dam density.

VP Chiwenga noted the importance of expanding the winter maize initiative to the Zambezi Valley, Middle Sabi in Manicaland and Bulawayo Kraal in Matabeleland North to boost food security in the country.

“Masvingo has the capacity and potential of producing 10 000ha of winter maize in the near future. With this solid foundation of a seed-bank (Mwenezana seed maize project), this target will be easy to achieve.” With properly managed irrigation projects, the negative effects of climate change will be mitigated.”

Replicating the winter maize initiative to other parts of the country with reliable water supplies is a step in the right direction as Zimbabwe angles to achieve food security.

The Zambezi Valley is also ideal for the project owing to abundant water in the Zambezi River while the Save River offers an excellent opportunity to take winter maize production to the heart of Manicaland province.

This bold and overdue move will help the nation address challenges associated with importing food.

Zimbabwe requires 1.8 million tonnes annually for consumption and a further 500 000 tonnes to stock into the strategic grain reserves.

Finance and Economic Development Deputy Minister Mr Clemence Chiduwa said the winter maize project was the solution if the country needs to stop exporting jobs.

He noted that importing food was tantamount to exporting jobs because the nation would be using scarce hard currency which otherwise could be used to retool and expand local industries.

“We have many water bodies around the country that are currently underutilised and as a nation we need to start doing something about this. We cannot continue using our hard-earned foreign currency to import food. The winter maize project should be replicated in other parts of the country as quickly as possible,” said Deputy Minister Chiduwa.

In Masvingo, the winter maize initiative is being fronted by Masvingo Development Trust (MDT), in partnership with Tongaat Hulett and the Government.

The triple alliance continues to make new landmarks in the quest to help Masvingo shed off the basket case tag, itself a label deserving a place at the table of infamy.

This year, the alliance aims to put nearly 4 000ha under winter maize and preparations are at an advanced stage.

Tongaat Hulett has pledged 2 700ha for the initiative with Lowveld cane farmers offering over 1 100ha from fallow cane fields.

Out of the 327ha put under winter maize by MDT in Chiredzi last year, the province got a 1 156tonnes grain dividend and that figure will likely top nearly 20 000tonnes this year.

According to MDT chair, Mr Lovemore Matuke this year’s expanded winter maize project was inspired by the desire to permanently obliterate footprints of hunger in Masvingo province.

Mr Matuke said blessed with arguably the highest dam density in Zimbabwe coupled with rich, flat fertilise lands in the Lowveld area, stretching from Mwenezi to the west and Chisumbanje to the east, Masvingo should drive the winter maize project.

Successful execution of the initiative in the province will trigger an agricultural tremor that will engulf the whole nation, setting Zimbabwe on the path to self-redemption through regaining its yesteryear status as the regional breadbasket.

“We are dying more than 20 000 tonnes of maize and small grains seed this year under the winter maize project in the Lowveld and we are very happy with the ground we have covered.”

According to Mr Matuke, the initiative was an epoch making intervention to end recurrent food woes.

“The project should be replicated in other parts of the country and we are ready to offer our expertise to our colleagues in other provinces because we want to permanently get rid of hunger. We diversified into traditional grains seed because we want to create a stable seed bank to expand traditional grains production across Masvingo and beyond.”

This initiative, noted Mr Matuke required partnerships between Government and the private sector like what is happening in the Lowveld.

He urged more companies, especially agri-business firms to support Government engender food security through initiatives like winter maize farming.

“In Masvingo we have many idle dams such as Tugwi-Mukosi, Lake Mutirikwi, Manyuchi, Bangala, Manjirenji, Muzhwi and Siya and all these can sustain a vibrant winter maize project that can feed the whole nation, complementing the national produce during the summer cropping season,” said Mr Matuke.

Minister of State for Masvingo Ezra Chadzamira also weighed in saying the winter maize initiative was the way to go for the nation in the face of increasing food insecurity caused by climate change.

He said Masvingo had many advantages to make it the arrowhead of the winter maize initiative.

“We want to continue expanding the winter maize initiative and we’re on the right track because we are getting support from local private companies such as Tongaat. We urge more players to come in so that we do not continue purchasing for food from other countries. We have the land, water and expertise so nothing stops us from growing our own food for export and local consumption,” said Minister Chadzamira.

Experts noted that besides dams, Masvingo had many perennial flowing rivers such as Chiredzi, Mwenezi, Runde and Mutirikwe — which could all be harnessed for winter cropping — to improve food security.

The Food and Agricultural Organisation(FAO), was also left awe-stricken by news of the initiative and sent its emissaries to experience this wonderful dream conceived in the face of growing food insecurity worldwide, because of climate change.

Today the nation awaits a new agricultural revolution centred on the winter maize initiative that appears to be the only viable permanent panacea to recurrent food woes in the face of climate change.